The rapid growth of the Islamic financial market in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region and South East Asia over the last five years has created a thriving market for the suppliers of support technology to develop and enhance their offerings to meet the increasing demands of their customers who operate within this specialized segment.

However, the current economic meltdown in the US and European markets (which is likely to spread to other regions) will force Islamic finance players to review and redefine their focus on how to survive in a highly turbulent market place. Many proponents of Islamic finance claim that it will not be greatly affected by this meltdown due to the underlying principles of Shariah, nevertheless, regulators will require Islamic financial institutions to enhance key processes, including risk management, to withstand the shock should another meltdown occur.

Therefore, opportunities are in the offing for suppliers of supporting technology in Islamic finance to re-architect their offerings in anticipation of the changes required by Islamic finance regulators and players as they cope with the changing landscape post the economic meltdown.